The entire Chengen Duke’s villa was thrown into chaos.
Dogs were running wild in every direction.
These dogs had been fed raw meat to maintain their aggression. Once they were unleashed, it was impossible to rein them in.
It wasn’t just ordinary people being bitten—those arrogant young nobles who often followed Tian Baoci around and were quite familiar with the dogs were also fleeing in panic.
Gone were their leisurely airs, playing with dogs by waving meat skewers on sticks. Gone was their smug pride.
Now they were the prey.
But the dogs didn’t care who used to feed them or watch them “perform.” Anyone who ran too slowly was immediately tackled and bitten.
The scene was utterly horrific.
Those few remaining young nobles relied on their familiarity with the estate’s layout, scrambling desperately toward the inner courtyards.
At least in the inner courtyards, there were walls and gates—maybe they could hide there and not get torn apart by dogs.
But by fleeing that way, the dogs scattered even further.
This was what Xiao Jingzhao saw the moment he came out—and he immediately punched a tree in fury. He barked, “How many dogs did Tian Baoci raise?!”
One of his own guards had also been bitten. Gritting his teeth through the pain, the man reported, “Your Highness, I just grabbed a servant from the Tian household and questioned him. He said Tian Baoci raised at least six or seven hundred dogs here at the villa!”
Six or seven hundred?!
No wonder the horde had been dense enough to collapse a wall earlier!
With that many dogs, even just feeding them would be a monumental task.
Tian Baoci…
Duke Chengen household…
Xiao Jingzhao clenched his jaw in fury. “Have the physicians arrived yet? See to the wounded first! Where are the garrison troops?! Control the situation—minimize the casualties!”
The guards rushed to obey.
Xiao Jingzhao went personally to check on the injured.
Because Tian Baoci had shamelessly invited crowds over for today’s spectacle, there was no telling who was present. And worse, a lot of prominent people were there.
The usual group of noble scions and idle young masters from Tian Baoci’s social circle, of course, had all come.
Even many scholars were in attendance.
But the worst of it—someone from the Confucius family was there!
A descendant of Yanshenggong himself!
And even worse: that young man had suffered a severe bite—flesh was torn from his thigh.
Xiao Jingzhao forced down his nausea, quickly squatted beside him to reassure, “I’ve already summoned the physicians. Hold on—please, hold on!”
Qi Yuan had already finished dealing with Tian Baoci and now emerged from the building.
At a glance, she saw Xiao Jingzhao moving among the crowd, directing people and giving orders.
She narrowed her eyes.
The Crown Prince was notoriously arrogant, insecure yet overconfident—but his sons seemed nothing like him.
Quite interesting.
But now was not the time to pay attention to Xiao Jingzhao. She slipped past the crowd to find Feng Caiwei.
Feng Caiwei had been bitten badly. Earlier, a sleek hound had latched onto her calf and wouldn’t let go. If not for Xiuyi’s quick reflexes—grabbing a stick and smashing the dog’s skull—the beast wouldn’t have died.
And even after death, the dog still wouldn’t release its grip.
Xiuyi had to pry the jaws open by force.
Feng Caiwei had fainted from shock.
She had never imagined dogs could be so terrifying.
Xiuyi was frantic. Seeing Feng Caiwei pass out, she could only pinch her philtrum hard to bring her back.
After much effort, Feng Caiwei finally came to. Xiuyi whispered urgently, “Miss, you can’t faint now. We should leave this place immediately.”
Things had spiraled completely out of their control.
If they stayed any longer, they might become even more entangled.
Feng Caiwei’s calf was torn open in several places—pain so intense she nearly lost her mind.
Still pressing on the wounds to stem the bleeding, she sneered through gritted teeth, “Leave? Why? Everyone’s here now. Tian Baoci is finished for sure, and the Tian family will suffer too. But you think Qi Yuan is going to walk away unscathed? Her dog caused this riot too, didn’t it?”
Besides, if the Tian family went down but Qi Yuan remained untouched, the Empress Dowager would surely be enraged.
Xiuyi hesitated, clearly uneasy.
At that moment, Duke Chengen himself finally arrived—Tian Baoci’s father.
Feng Caiwei curled her lips mockingly: “See? The person who needed to come is here.”
Xiuyi turned even paler and whispered, “It’s not just the Duke—Zhou Wang has arrived too.”
The moment Zhou Wang entered, he was greeted by the sight of blood everywhere, bodies strewn across the ground, and dogs running rampant.
One dog, by sheer coincidence, charged straight at him.
Before his guards could react, Zhou Wang had already yanked a blade from one of them and sliced it down in one clean stroke—killing the dog on the spot.
He tossed the sword back and shouted, stunned, “What the h*ll happened here?! How did it come to this?! Where did all these dogs come from?!”
Duke Chengen also looked grim, but his primary concern wasn’t damage control—it was his son’s fate.
Zhou Wang quickly spotted Xiao Jingzhao in the crowd and called out, “Jingzhao! Jingzhao!”
He was a senior, so using Xiao Jingzhao’s name was appropriate.
Xiao Jingzhao heard the call, turned, and saw both the Duke and Zhou Wang. He handed off his current task and jogged over.
Zhou Wang glanced behind him at the carnage. “What’s going on? How did this get so out of hand? These dogs…”
Xiao Jingzhao had long lost any patience for Duke Chengen’s family.
He didn’t bother saving face and explained the competition that had taken place earlier—his expression dark and cold.
“It was just a match. But Sixth Young Master Tian couldn’t accept losing. He had all his dogs let loose, despite the fact that hundreds of people were here just to watch!”
Duke Chengen’s face turned dark, his brows furrowing as he stared at Xiao Jingzhao.
He hadn’t expected the prince to not give him any leeway.
Under normal circumstances, as fellow royals, Xiao Jingzhao should have at least shown some respect—especially considering the Empress Dowager. But instead of helping smooth things over, Xiao Jingzhao was airing everything in public with righteous indignation!
What was he trying to do?
Zhou Wang’s face also darkened. Looking over the injured, he couldn’t help asking, “These… all these wounded people…”
“All bitten by Tian Baoci’s dogs!” Xiao Jingzhao spat coldly. “Some are seriously injured—they might not even survive! And the dogs are still running loose. Many have already escaped outside—if they get into the streets, more people will be hurt!”
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